Traditional art forms and aesthetics can be infused with new creativity as they are passed along from generation to generation. This series looks at some of these “cool traditions” that remain relevant by perfectly suiting contemporary sensibilities.

A new museum dedicated to Japan’s artistic giant Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) has opened in the municipality of Sumida in Tokyo. Best known for his iconic print The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Hokusai was an important influence on Western artists like Monet and Van Gogh.(More)

Traditional Japanese architecture’s reliance on wood as a building material developed largely in response to Japan’s humid environment—particularly the warm, wet summer months. Raised floors and open spaces ensured proper ventilation to fight the buildup of toxic mold. Wood post-and-beam construction is also useful when designing for typhoon and earthquake resistance.(More)

Weaving motifs from Chinese culture, history, and thought, Cai Guo-Qiang began creating gunpowder drawings while living in Japan. What does the country mean for this world-leading contemporary artist?(More)

For more than a half-century, Tsuchiya Bag has been handcrafting sturdy, comfortable, and timelessly appealing elementary-school backpacks designed to satisfy the pickiest parents and stand up to six years of hard wear. With the Japanese randoseru gaining popularity overseas, we visited the company’s Tokyo workshop, where leatherworkers were busy finishing up the latest collection in time for the mid-summer randoseru rush.(More)

Randoseru backpacks are a familiar sight in Japan, where they are universally associated with elementary school. Who would have imagined they would become a highly sought-after adult accessory overseas?(More)

Englishman Robert Soanes specializes in the restoration and conservation of samurai armor, swords, and other Japanese antiques. Nippon.com visited him at his home in the English seaside resort of Brighton.(More)

Traditional firework makers, or hanabishi, have thrilled spectators since the Edo period (1603–1868). One of the preeminent firework craftsmen today is Aoki Akio, who comes from a long line of outstanding hanabishi. Izumiya Gensaku takes a look at how Aoki is bringing this old craft into the twenty-first century.(More)

The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints has reproduced around 1,200 masterpieces by artists such as Hokusai and Utamaro. Brigitte Koyama-Richard, a researcher in Japanese fine arts from France, visited their Tokyo studio to report on how they are using techniques unchanged since the Edo period.(More)

The Nagano Ebisukō Fireworks Display, held alongside the Ebisu festival each November, is famous as the last fireworks display of the year. This exclusive video, taken over the course of a day, whisks you to a front-row seat at one of the most breathtaking displays of pyrotechnical wizardry in Japan.(More)

Japanese woodblock prints had a major influence on the development of European modern painting. Ukiyo-e continue to be extremely popular around the world, but few people know much about the original uses to which these prints were put back in the Edo period. Brigitte Koyama-Richard, a French expert on Japanese art, provides an introduction to the world of ukiyo-e.(More)

Ōmagari in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, has long been a popular place for fireworks, and is familiar to millions of people as the host city of the famous Ōmagari National Fireworks Competition, which draws pyrotechnicians from all over the country. We take a look at the proud history and exciting present of the country’s leading fireworks competition.(More)

Most people with even a nodding familiarity with Japanese art have marveled at the subtlety and liveliness of woodblock prints. But besides the famous scenes of rural and urban life, many of the best-known artists produced large numbers of sexually explicit pictures. Known as shunga, these works are marked by tenderness, humor, and biting satire. As a major exhibition at the British Museum draws big crowds, writer Tony McNicol takes a look at this most intimate of artistic genres.(More)

Yamaguchi Akira is an artist who uses the techniques of traditional Japanese painting to explore new possibilities for contemporary art. With its humorous and contempory sensibility, his work has beguiled audiences around the world. In this interview, a French scholar of Japanese art looks at the roots of Yamaguchi’s creativity.(More)

The cultivation and appreciation of bonsai trees or plants is on the rise, both in Japan and around the world. Here we introduce the aesthetic elements of this fascinating art that compresses nature without sacrificing its majesty and beauty.(More)